About Uruguay

Uruguay is a South American country known for its verdant interior and beach-lined coast. The capital, Montevideo, revolves around Plaza Independencia, once home to a Spanish citadel. It leads to Ciudad Vieja (Old City), with art deco buildings, colonial homes and Mercado del Puerto, an old port market with many steakhouses. La Rambla, a waterfront promenade, passes fish stalls, piers and parks.

Population

Uruguay is home to an estimated 3.42 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the metropolitan area of its capital and largest city, Montevideo. With an area of approximately 176,000 square kilometers (68,000 sq mi).

Political Structure

The politics of Uruguay abide by a presidential representative democratic republic, under which the President of Uruguay is both the head of state and the head of government, as well as a multiform party system. The president exercises executive power and legislative power and is vested in the two chambers of the General Assembly of Uruguay. The Judiciary branch is independent from that of the executive and legislature.

The Colorado and National parties have been locked in a power struggle, with the predominance of the Colorado party throughout most of Uruguay’s history. The elections of 2004, however, brought the Encuentro Progresista-Frente Amplio-Nueva Mayoría, a coalition of socialists, former Tupamaros, communists, social democrats, and Christian Democrats among others to power with majorities in both houses of parliament.

Infrastructure and Economy

Infrastructure in Uruguay is First World and first rate across the nation. In Uruguay you’ll enjoy fast, modern highways, reliable phone, cell, and broadband Internet service, well-maintained beaches and good public facilities, a public radio system, and drinkable water from every tap. You won’t find a town in which this isn’t true. You’ll even enjoy the use of free Wi-Fi on buses and in town squares in cities.

Montevideo, Uruguay’s capital city, has a very high level of infrastructure, including its shipping ports. The city’s airport is modern and well maintained, providing a great deal of access to the region. Since the airports and shipping ports are tax free there are many high value companies operating in these areas.

Uruguay’s power supply system is quite reliable and spread to nearly all of the country’s population. As an added bonus, the main source of power comes from renewable energy.

Uruguay has made paying taxes easier for companies by continually upgrading and improving their electronic system for filing and paying major business taxes. The country has also made trading across borders easier by implementing a risk-based inspection system. The system is designed to reduce customs clearance time for both exports and imports.

Language

In addition to Spanish, there are a number of minority languages spoken by very small pockets of the population. Some of these include Portuguese, Portunol, Italian, German, Russian and Plautdietsch.